My 1st Father's Day Gift

[astiesi]

I've had the upgrade bug for quite some time but I was hesitant to pull the trigger...so my wife did it for me. For Father's Day she showed up with a 65 gallon AGA as well as a beautiful wood stand. Now this is just the beginning as it is going to take quite some time to accumulate all of the necessary equipment...I'm hoping to have the tank running by Christmas. As my only other reefing experience was with an All-In-One BioCube, I'm looking for as much advice as possible. I will be posting my plans for this tank and my initial equipment list in the coming days. For now I'll just start things off with a picture.

And I already have an inhabitant...

 

[stonedfish]

Congratulations. I didnt add my first kid until after my cycle completed.

 

[nstiesi]

^ --- lol

Looks good brotha......well, it should, I helped pick it out! I am excited for you.......if this ends up anything like your BC, it should be epic.

 

[Reddog170]

Congrats man. All I got for fathers day was a day at work and a thunderstorm. Are you going to drill it? But just a tip, your first inhabitant (toddler fish) have been know to be reallly messy eaters and they usualy love to rearange things. At least mine do, LOL. Will follow along. Happy fathers day, Shaun

 

[lcstorc]

Great gift.
Happy Father's day.

 

[Frankie]

Cool! I like the merman shot

 

[acemow]

very nice! I wish my husband wanted a new tank for Father's Day, but he didn't even want a coral or anything....oh I forgot, the tank's mine..Happy reefing!

 

[astiesi]

Thanks everybody! Judging by how fast the toddler fish is growing, I'm going to need an upgrade soon!

So I am planning on getting this tank drilled. I consider myself very handy with tools but I think I am going to just pay the money and get it drilled at a LFS....I just really don't want a mistake to cost me another tank. I am not sure if I should paint the back of the tank, anyone want to comment? I like the way it looks better but I seem to remember reading something that suggests it actually absorbs a good spectrum of the light.

Beyond that here is an initial equipment list. I am just starting to research different models so suggestions are much appreciated. Also if I am forgetting anything let me know.

- 36" T-5 Lighting
- Protein Skimmer
- 20 gallon sump/fuge
- Return Pump
- Heater
- A few K2s or K3s
- RO/DI unit

 

[astiesi]

And thanks acemow... I wish the wife would get more into the hobby but at least she supports my obsession!

 

[Reddog170]

Yea toddler fish turn into Teenager fish and become a pain real fast, LOL. Drilling a tank is not that hard but if you are not planning to drill another one then it is usualy cheaper to have it drilled. I would consider some 175 watt halides for it. I am lucky my wife enjoys my reef as well. It has become more of a family hobby than just mine. Keep us posted, Shaun

 

[astiesi]

So I've been looking around at overflow ideas and found glass-holes.com. Has anyone had any experience installing their overflow kit? I'm beginning to toy with the idea of drilling this tank myself but I'm looking for some input from people with experience. I have a few other questions for those with such experience.

1. On a 65 gallon what would the optimum flow rate be for the overflow?

2. Would you suggest a drilled return line or just going up and over the top rim?

3. Should I just bring the tank back and exchange it for a reef-ready tank, paying the difference?

 

[reef dummy]

I would return and pay the difference personally. Reef ready are so nice and pain free!

 

[nstiesi]

So I've been looking around at overflow ideas and found glass-holes.com. Has anyone had any experience installing their overflow kit? I'm beginning to toy with the idea of drilling this tank myself but I'm looking for some input from people with experience. I have a few other questions for those with such experience.

1. On a 65 gallon what would the optimum flow rate be for the overflow?

2. Would you suggest a drilled return line or just going up and over the top rim?

3. Should I just bring the tank back and exchange it for a reef-ready tank, paying the difference?

I forgot, what was the exact price difference between your tank and the reef ready version?

 

[astiesi]

A bit over $100 I think.

 

[gch.3]

congrats imo i would paint the back i regret not doing it to mine. as for a return i am using a mag 7 on mine and not quite to capacity of the overflow. hope this helps.

 

[astiesi]

Well, here are some pics from the first major step in this build. I did decide to go with the glass-holes.com overflow and I am extremely glad I did. Drilling the tank was much easier than I expected and the overflow takes up alot less space than a full length corner overflow. I got the 1500 kit as I wanted the second drain line for redundency. I don't plan on running much more than 700 - 800 GPH through it. Enough talk, here are the pics.

The before picture:

The template was included with the glass-holes kit:

Grooves have been started, so far so good:

One down, one to go:

All done, much easier than I thought:

The finished product:

For anybody interested in attempting to drill their own tank, I learned a cool little trick for telling pane glass from tempered glass. Using a laptop, which has a polarized filter over the display - most do, and a pair of polarized glasses you can see the stress lines which result from the tempering process.

 

[nstiesi]

Uh.....no love for the help huh?

HA! It came out BA brother, completely BA....I was glad I could participate!

 

[nstiesi]

Oh my....that is a tastefully modded, reliable, and attractive American C-segment automobile....nice!

 

[astiesi]

Guess I have to give some love to the help....thanks brother for driving up and helping with the install.

 

[nstiesi]

Any freaking time!

I'm gonna go check the FS boards for more equipment.......for you, lol. I think we can do better than September.....

You should put up a WTB ad for the sump.